More on unlawful combatants

I have researched several of the legal issues related to the war on terrorism in connection with public speaking appearances in which I have been the desperate last resort of forums looking for an advocate of the Bush administration’s war-related positions. For various speeches over the past couple of months I have researched issues related to the congressional authorization for the use of force to respond to 9/11, the congressional authorization for the use of force against Iraq, the PATRIOT Act, the establishment of military tribunals to try prisoners, and the detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
In doing the research on these issues I have been struck by the scruplous correctness of the positions adopted by the Bush administration and by the baselessness of the charges to the contrary made by commentators like Michael Kinsley in his Friday Washington Post column linked to by Deacon below. The issue of the treatment of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay is a perfect example.
Here is a column that provides a lucid explanation of the law applicable to this and some related issues: “WHAT IS AN ‘UNLAWFUL COMBATANT,’ AND WHY IT MATTERS: The Status Of Detained Al Qaeda And Taliban Fighters.” Also helpful in this context is an eloquent defense of the administration’s treatment of the Guatanamo prisoners by the Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, Pierre-Richard Prosper, via the U.S. embassy in Stockholm: “U.S. in line with international law at Guantanamo.”